Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 April 2018
217. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the actions she will take to address the fall in benefits to lone parents (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18381/18]
View answerMy Department provides a number of income supports to lone parents once their entitlement to the One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) ceases. These include the Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment (JST) payment where the youngest child is aged 7-13 years and the Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) payment which may be paid to lone parents where the youngest child is aged 14 or over. The Family Income Supplement, recently re-designated as a Working Family Payment (WFP), is also available to lone parents who are working 19 or more hours per week. Lone parents who move to WFP can also apply for the Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD).
In Budget 2018, I continued to improve the situation for lone parents through an increase to the income disregard on the OFP and the JST payments from €110 a week to €130 a week; an increase of €5 to the primary rate; and a €2 increase in the Increase for a Qualified Child (IQC) rate. These positive measures will see a lone parent on OFP or JST, who is working 15 hours a week on the National Minimum Wage, better off by nearly €1,000 per year. These Budget measures took effect from 29 March 2018.
My Department’s social impact assessments of Budgets 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 show a cumulative increase of €36.75 in the average weekly household income of employed lone parents. This compares favourably with a weekly increase of €34.45 for the average household, demonstrating the improvements made.
I intend to continue to prioritise supports for lone parents, particularly those which incentivise work over welfare. However, any changes to the existing supports for lone parents will need to be considered as part of Budget 2019 discussions.
